Orange Goblin have been flying the flag for exuberant biker rock for the best part of a generation. Yet, somewhat incredibly, their latest and 10th album, Science Not Fiction may come to be viewed as a career high for these hard rock lifers.
Coming on like the soundtrack to a thundering berserker raid, Orange Goblin’s incendiary riffing and boisterous grooves tip a hat to iconic rockers like Motörhead or Venom at their most rabble rousing with man mountain and vocalist Ben Ward leading the charge. Indeed, while Science Not Fiction may not be especially original or inventive, it’s seriously intoxicating stuff that’s guaranteed to get your blood circulating and your spirits up.
Throughout this highly tasty and speedy set, Ward takes aim at society’s short-comings through the lens of science, spirituality, religion and social justice, spreading Metal Wisdom and railing against a world where “the rich inflate their egos, while the poor just foot the bills”. From the first bars of “The Fire at the Centre of the Earth is Mine” to the final fade out of “Eye of the Minotaur”, Orange Goblin belt out intense and energised hymns to brotherhood and good times despite these difficult days, with no space for plodding ballads. “(Not) Rocket Science” is lively rock’n’roll with serious swagger, while “Ascend the Negative” rails against corrupt politicians and “False Hope Diet” warns that “the Devil’s in the small print of the text you never read” while powering into the stratosphere.
In short, Science Not Fiction is an album of joyous rock’n’roll that is intelligent without descending into dour navel-gazing and rocking without being simplistic. It goes straight for the gut and no doubt its tunes will get feet stomping and fists pumping in the air with gusto when the band hits the road in the Autumn.
